The Escapades of Apartment 4A, Continued! (Part 3)
by StudioGhibliGirl
Summary: (THE UPDATE HAS COME AT LAST, MY MINIONS! I hope it's worth the wait!) Penny doesn't even realize what she does to him, and Sheldon's left to deal with a formidable new opponent: male hormones!


The Escapades of Apartment 4A

Chapter Three

"Mind over Matter"

Shenny, (high) T

(A/N; Hey y'all! Thanks for subscribing to this fic, all of you! And pretty please recommend it to other BBT fans! I'll go ahead and say it, this is where my shoddily-written awesome shipping goes into overdrive...enjoy, my lovelies! FYI, there are no lemons or limes in this story, this is fanfiction, not 7-up! ...I give thee permission to flame me for that atrocious pun...XD)

Retreating quickly from the living room, and from the company of a certain almost-collegiate blonde with an unconfirmed last name, Sheldon slowed to a halt.

As soon as he confirmed to himself that he was out of Penny's line of sight, he exhaled sharply, gripping the wall of the hallway and leaning on it unsteadily.

His neighbor had managed to make him truly uncomfortable, a first for him in awhile...

Sheldon didn't even know why he was so distressed, but escape had proved to be somewhat of a relief, whatever the underlying cause.

Sheldon forced his mind to analyze memories of what had just happened moments ago, as if they could offer some clue to him as to why his animalistic urge to flee had kicked in. The initial intrusion of Penny on his solo Halo Night had been acceptable, so why all of a sudden was he- a vivid mental picture interjected on his train of thought, with was currently making too many stops already. That startlingly clear image of his current guest, barely a minute earlier, in that accursed nightshirt of Leonard's, the hem so tauntingly short as it displayed her legs, top buttons undone just enough to betray more than the curve of her chest... THE FRACK?! Sheldon flushed 10 different shades of red, his pulse spiking. His own subconscious mind had betrayed him, leaking strange, scandalous musings into his conscious thoughts, it seemed. Sheldon was acutely aware of this, and completely dumbfounded. His self control, all the scientific principle he dictated to his day-to-day life, nullified because of simple male flaws in design he could not control! Stalling in mid-thought, Sheldon realized how uncomfortably long he had stayed in the hall, lost in his own dilemmas.

He crossed the hallway to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He then turned to face his own flushed reflection in the mirror. "Grrrr...what is the matter with me?" he asked himself. Sheldon began to make note of his own symptoms. "Hmm...fever maybe, my complexion suggests that, shortness of breath-" he peered closer at the mirror. "Dilated pupils? And..." he tilted his head to the side. He became aware of a uncomfortable pressure making itself known in the regions near his waistband. His eyes drifted to that area, training on the rather obvious evidence of tented fabric. Sheldon figured it out in seconds, the shock of realization hitting him like a thunderbolt of Thor himself. "OH LORD!" Sheldon bolted upwards, accidentally whacking his forehead on the mirror in the process. He clutched his throbbing forehead, clenching his teeth in pain.

The guest and only other resident of 4A at the moment was slumped on the leather couch watching television, deliberating whether Sheldon would notice if she stole a Poptart from the kitchen...Penny's ears perked up at something. Or rather, the lack of something. It had been like ten minutes since Sheldon had excused himself for that shower, yet no water was running. Her brow furrowing, Penny muted the TV and listened again. Just as she was about to write herself off as a paranoid nut-job, a loud thump and a shout broke the silence. "HEY! Are you alright?" Penny shouted in the general direction of the hall. "Y-YES!" came the anxious reply. Unsettled by the very un Sheldon-esque answer, Penny rose to her feet, shuffling to the bathroom door and knocking slowly. "...Sheldon?" she ventured, leaning on the door. Sheldon looked up from the mirror, eyes widening. "Seriously," she said, her voice a tad muffled by the door, "What was that noise?" Sheldon tried to make his voice casual, though his freaking out over his ere-...problem! made it difficult to maintain. "My skull unintentionally connected with the mirror! Nothing serious! Please go away now!" Normally, based on with felt like a minor concussion (Or maybe that was the hypochondria talking), Sheldon would've wanted to go straight to the ER, juuust to be sure, but that wasn't an option with Penny obstinately showing concern for him! The last thing he wanted was for her to see him in this state! Penny tried the door again, not buying his uncomfortable secrecy laden tone. "You most certainly do not sound okay! C'mon, let me in!" She stubbornly tapped her foot on the floor, crossing her arms. For all she knew, he could be a concussive mess, but he already acted so odd, who could tell?! Penny took matters into her own hands. "I'm going to burn all your comic books, starting with the Special Edition Hellboy!" There was a gasp and a shout of "NO!", hands on the other side fumbling for the doorknob and twisting it open. Grinning victoriously, Penny pushed past the door, coming rather anti-climactically face to face with Sheldon. His face showed a panicked look that didn't suit him, as well as a twitch of irritation. "That w-wasn't fair!" Penny just snorted, moving closer to him to examine his forehead. Sheldon shut his eyes, pulse quickening for the inevitable outcry and his 'problem' coming to light.

It never came.

Stepping back, Penny let Sheldon's bangs fall back into place and shrugged. "You seem fine! I'm sorry for pestering you, I was just worried!" And with that, Penny shuffled out, shutting the door behind her. As it shut, Sheldon exhaled in relief, breathing for the first time in what seemed like hours. He steadied himself on the counter, still shocked over his luck.

15 minutes later, give or take a couple, Sheldon reentered the living room, back from his cold, (and not just for obvious reasons, as Penny has managed to use ALL the hot water) , shower. He went to his spot on the couch, plopping down in it. Penny looked up from the T.V. program she had been paying rapt attention to, bombarding him with questions about the show excitedly. They spent the next 1/2 hour or so doing that, and when Leonard, Raj and Howard walked through the front door, Penny was saying; "I really think I'm like Rose! She managed to save the Earth TONS of times without having been to college, so HA!" Sheldon noticed the men just as he was about to retort, he sat up straighter. "Good evening, gentlemen, I trust everything went well?"

(Well, short chapter, I know, but I've kept you all waiting long enough! Anyways, please R & R, and give me ideas in the comments, I promise I'll incorporate them in the story if they're good enough!)


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